


The First Monitors

by RobertDBallard



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Backstory, Family, Gen, Monitors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-25
Updated: 2014-09-02
Packaged: 2018-02-14 16:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2198394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobertDBallard/pseuds/RobertDBallard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ana and Frederick Niehaus would do anything to have a child.  Exploring Cosima's upbringing and her journey to self-awareness</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ana and Frederick Niehaus were a perfect match. He was one of most in-demand programmers in San Francisco's blossoming tech industry, and she, a brilliant professor in Berkeley's Neuroscience department. The only thing missing from their beautiful home was a child to call their own. It wasn't for lack of trying; surrogates fell through, In-Vitro Fertilization wouldn't take, and adoption lists were miles long. Brilliant as they were, they had reached the end of their rope.

Doctor Leekie of the DYAD institute offered a solution.

"We've tried IVF three times" Ana leafed through the pamphlets. "I don't think I can handle another heartbreak."

"Then, you'll be pleased to hear we've had a nearly 100% success rate with our study" Dr. Leekie smiled. "Our precision fertilization method using flawless donor eggs perfectly configured to the carrier uterus has been nothing short of miraculous."

"What's the catch?" Frederick asked. It sounded too good to be true.

"It is a long-term study, so all we'd need is a few samples once a year. Your child's physician can easily take them at their annual physical. And, of course, you'll let us know if you notice anything out of the ordinary." Dr. Leekie slid the paperwork across the desk.

"So, we'd be his, or her…monitors?" Ana tried to keep her gesticulating hands settled.

"You'd be her parents."

Nine months later, their promised miracle was delivered. "Ten fingers, ten toes, she's perfect." Frederick cradled their newborn bundle of happiness, gently placing her in Ana's waiting arms.

"She's beautiful." Ana stroked their newborn's cheek.

"You guys pick out a name yet?" Their nurse asked.

"Cosima." They replied together.

* * *

 

"But if he's underwater, how does he breathe?" Young Cosima stood on her tiptoes to feed her new pet goldfish. Why, how, what, they were her favorite words. Her thirst for knowledge was insatiable. "See those lines?" Ana rested her finger on the glass. "Those are gills." Her hands started to wander, as they often did when she tried to condense hard science into language fit for a six-year old. "They help fish breathe just like your lungs help you."

"Hella neat." Cosima was enraptured.

"What do you say we do a little science class?" Ana pulled a magnifying glass out of the side table drawer. "Do you think you can find few bugs in the garden?"

"Can we look at them under your microscope?" Cosima bounced with giddiness.

"If you can find them" Ana smiled. She was overjoyed to be raising a child with such a curiosity in the world around her. She'd be lucky to have a student with half of Cosima's excitement. At her age, she could have that fascination without worrying about the minutiae of grant letters and study proposals. She just hoped she could keep up with all of the answers.

As the years passed, Cosima's curiosity only grew. Her teachers wrote glowing reviews of her exemplary work. Trips to museums typically ended with being chased out by tired security guards after hours. Of course, Frederick wasn't surprised to see Cosima sitting at their kitchen table with what used to be the family toaster in a few dozen pieces.

"Whatcha got there, Cos?" Frederick set down his laptop.

"I might've hit a speed bump." She replied, sliding her glasses up her nose as she tried to retrace her steps.

"How's the first week of school?" He started sorting a few parts.

"It's okay." She shrugged. High school was a strange environment. It was only a few days in, but it seemed like the other students cared very little about what was happening in the classroom. She'd never been preoccupied with popularity, but it seemed to be the only thing that mattered amongst her new peers.

"Just okay?" Sure, she'd kept to herself through middle school, but that hadn't stopped her from making friends.

"Classes are cool, everyone else is just a dick." She rested her chin on her hands, watching her father's hands perform the delicate task of repairing what she'd wrecked.

"Sounds about right." He connected a couple of wires. High school was rarely a lifetime pinnacle, but he knew how hard that was to see in the moment.

"So, I'll be stuck dealing with Neanderthals for the next four years?"

"High school's weird for everyone." He explained, testing his last connection. "Everyone's a little bit lost, so they try to fit in the best they can." He slid down the lever. Perfect assembly. "Just remember, Cosima, you're one of a kind. All you have to do is be you."

"Just like that, huh?" She was skeptical, of course, but she thought it was sweet he tried.

"I know, 'show, don't tell'" He smiled. "All in time." He'd grown to wonder if he should've ever taught her the phrase. He turned his attention back to the coding on his laptop.

"More life-changing office suite software?" She teased.

"Just some rudimentary binary, I'm afraid." He tilted the screen her way. "The technology's ancient, but enduring." She scooted her stool closer.

"How's it work?"


	2. Chapter 2

"…And just like that, we had Dolly, the sheep." The Biology teacher finished plotting out the chart on the board.

"So, given what we can do with IVF, and surrogacy, what's to stop scientists from cloning humans?" Cosima asked, not really bothering to raise her hand.

"The law, for one thing." Her teacher replied. "Not to mention, it's considered unethical in the scientific community. How would you feel if you bumped into your clone on the street?"

"Pretty stoked, she could go to gym class for me" Cosima smirked as her classmates snickered.

"I wouldn't throw out those sneakers just yet, Miss Niehaus." He queued up a new slide on the board. "A person's genetics are only part of the human equation. How those genes are expressed can affect everything from personality traits to behaviors, even outward appearance." He scrolled through the corresponding pictures on the slide show. "Who can tell me what affects the 'how' here?"

"Environment." Cosima's mind was whizzing ahead at warp speed. Something inside her just clicked into gear. "The um, whole nurture part of 'nature-versus-nurture' like, home life, weather, diet, stuff like that." Her classmates couldn't quite keep up with her speedy ramble

"Precisely. Take a look at identical twins separated at birth." He pulled up a new chart showing the study. Their genetic material was identical, but the way they looked, the way they stood….they were so very different.

"How do they manage to-" Cosima had a million thoughts on the matter, but she was silenced by the bell.

"To be continued." Her teacher smiled as the students packed their books. "Cosima…" He called after her, scribbling a quick note down on some scrap paper. "See if you can find this book in the library, I think you'll like what he has to say."

"Yeah, man, cool. I'll check it out." She got a few steps down the hall before she unfolded the paper. The Origin of Species - Darwin

Across town, Ana was wrapping up her own lecture. "Make sure you spend plenty of time on chapter twelve, use that hippocampus you learned so much about."

"Humor's an excellent technique for information retention." Dr. Leekie grinned, descending the steps of the emptying lecture hall.

"Kaplan and Pascoe, 1977, got me through my doctoral dissertation." She replied, recalling the very study. Still, it was surprising to see him turn up out of the blue. "What brings you all the way out here?"

"The Chinese take-out, of course." He joked. "I'm giving a lecture at Stanford tomorrow, and I thought I'd stop by for my check-in in person."

"Yikes, has it been fifteen years already?" She glanced at her watch in jest.

"The years have a pesky habit of flying by. Got time to grab some coffee?"

Cosima settled into her station in the chemistry lab. She didn't expect to see a new face across the bench.

"Wow. You're not Jeannie."

"Uh, nope, not the last time I checked." He replied, his nervousness slipping right through his attempted cool demeanor. Of all of the places the teacher could have sat him, it was here, across from a beautiful girl, and he had let the silence sit for an awkwardly long period of time. "I just moved here from New York, the timing isn't great, but at least the weather's better over here." He tried to recover with more friendly small talk.

"Yeah, the fog's really pretty this time of year." She couldn't help but smile.

"I'm Peter." He suddenly realized he had yet to introduce himself. "You can call me Pete, my friends do—not that we're friends yet but we could be, I'm su-" How he wished he could find the sense to stop talking. Was it warm in here? He could feel the sweat stains forming.

"Cosima." She mercifully interrupted. "You gonna make it, man?" She couldn't help but tease a little bit when he was so adorably flustered.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll find a way." He laughed much louder than he intended.

"Dude, you're almost as weird as me, I love it." She smirked, lighting the Bunsen burner. No one in school really gave her the time of day, yet here was this new kid who thought she was awesome. This could be fun after all. "Let's see what you got, Pete."

In the cozy college café, Doctor Leekie found a free table for the two of them talk. "So, how's Cosima?" He sipped his coffee.

"At that age" Ana smiled "I keep waiting for the day she comes home with purple hair and a nose ring."

"Despite our best efforts at the DYAD, there's no cure for adolescence." He pulled out a few files.

"Teenage angst aside, she's pretty fantastic." She cradled her coffee cup. "She's brilliant, really. I don't think I've met anyone with such a thirst for knowledge." Her peers at the University could learn a thing or two from her daughter, for sure. "One of these days I'll be going to her with my questions."

"I'm not surprised, she's grown up in a home rich with learning." He leafed through a few papers before finding the right ones. "Not to mention, with a renowned neurologist doing groundbreaking research in Neural Plasticity and regeneration."

"Ah, so you found my paper." Sure, it had been well received, but she didn't expect it to catch his attention.

"A little light reading on the plane ride." He thumbed through the thick tome for effect.

"It's no Spanish Influenza vaccine, but it keeps me busy."

"We could certainly use a mind like yours at the DYAD institute."

Of all the things she expected from her daughter's 15-year check-in, a job offer was never on Ana's radar. It caught her off guard. "I thought we were here to talk about Cosima" She deflected.

"Of course" He tactfully retreated. "She's in excellent health, her grades are impeccable, young Cosima may very well be the poster child for our little study." The data he'd collected on her didn't lie. She was extraordinary, and he'd definitely have to keep an eye on her.

"Fred and I are certainly thankful. We were ready to give up before you came along."

"Then I hope you can at least give me the chance woo you away from Berkeley." She'd given him the opening, and he pounced on it. He slid the lecture flyer across the table. "Just give me an hour. If nothing else, come for the free wine."

"You drive a hard bargain, Dr. Leekie." She nodded in acceptance. "I'll be there."

"Excellent. I think you'll like what you hear." He started to gather his things. "Just one more thing" the actual important part of his coffee date "we're going to have to increase our tests on Cosima to twice a year."

"I thought she was in excellent health" Ana was confused, the news had come from way out in left field.

"She is, I assure you. It's just been a few isolated incidents with a very small percentage of our participants" Vicious autoimmune diseases, lung polyps, all very real dangers for Cosima. He turned the charm up to eleven

"What kind of incidents?" She wasn't going to let him off so easily.

"Well, I can't exactly share that, I'm bound by confidentiality" he hemmed and hawed "but I can disclose that the participant was in a community supplied with contaminated groundwater." That was the cover story, at least, but it was enough to throw Ana off his trail.

"So, I have nothing to worry about?"

"We're just following proper protocol, and taking extra precautions."

The assurance put Ana at ease. It was why he was the one who monitored the monitors.

"I'll be seeing you at the lecture, Dr. Niehaus."


	3. Chapter 3

Cosima wasn't a fan of the lunchroom. She'd much rather be nose-deep in a physiology textbook, but the stodgy old coot in the library wouldn't let her sneak in a bite.

"Dude, it's just a veggie wrap, I think the books can handle it." She tried to protest

"It wouldn't hurt to spend a little time with your peers, Miss Niehaus." The librarian shooed her away.

Her peers, which today, included two members of the varsity football team engaged in a pickle-eating contest. Neither of them was winning.

Cosima scanned the room, hoping to find a little square of solitude. She was about to give up when she noticed Peter sitting alone. Maybe this socializing thing wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Hey, is it cool if I pop a squat?" She set down her lunch bag

"Y-yeah, yeah sure, come on down." He moved his mess of papers and folders to clear a space for her.

"Writing your memoirs?" She nodded to the papers strewn about.

"Just trying to catch up." He replied. "That's the fun part of starting school in the middle of the semester."

"Bummer."

"Eh, I'm kinda used to it by now." He shrugged. "My parents are in the military, so we bounce around."

"Oh, cool, what do they do?"

"My mom's in intelligence, my dad's in research and development, and, if I tell you any more, I'd have to kill you.

"Come on" She leaned in closer. "I promise I won't tell anyone where you're hiding Captain America" She teased.

"Too funny." He looked over at her small stack of books. "You're reading Darwin? Hardcore." He knew she was a force in the classroom, but he was impressed she cared to learn after the bell.

"Yeah, I'm only like, three chapters in, but I'm so freakin' hooked." Most people would take this as a chance to mock her for her efforts, but he was just as interested. It was remarkable.

"Just wait till you get to the part where he cuts down intelligent design." He'd always had a hard time making friends in a new school, but it was so seamless with her. Suddenly, he had someone who wanted to geek out with him.

"Geez, easy on the spoilers." She took a bite of her wrap, revealing the nautilus shell on her forearm.

"Whoa, is that real?"

"Oh, this?" She glanced down at the Sharpie drawing. "Not yet. Just got a little bored in English class."

"I'll take the Fibonacci sequence over  _The Great Gatsby_  any day."

"Yeah, ditto, obvs." She was starting to feel grateful for getting kicked out of the library. He was way, way better company than any old textbook. The bell rang, setting the scores of students in motion.

"Hey, if you're not doing anything tonight, you should come over to my place, you can try to kick my ass at Command and Conquer" She started packing her books. "My parents'll be at some lecture at Stanford, they won't care."

"You play?" His eyes lit up.

"Please, I'm beta testing Red Alert 2."

"T-that's awesome." Just a game that wouldn't be released for another year. "Yeah, yeah I'll see you tonight." He was just barely holding it together. He was going to be walking on air for the rest of the day.

* * *

"Oh come on now, it'll be fun." Ana dragged Fred along through the lecture hall.

"Fun for you." He corrected. Don't get him wrong, he admired his wife and her studies, but for a numbers and coding guy like him, life science lectures were a bit stuffy.

"If nothing else, we get to see what he's up to when he's not overseeing miracle in-vitro trials." Dr. Leekie was the one who made Cosima possible. She'd sit through an hour of him tap dancing if he'd wanted.

Moments later, Dr. Leekie took center stage.

"Thank you for tearing yourselves away from the Giants game to be with me tonight." He grinned, warming up the crowd.

"I think you'll find the work we've been doing at the DYAD will impact the future of humankind far greater than any old homerun from Barry Bonds." He started his presentation. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce, the science of tomorrow, for today, Neolution."

The light show was a nice touch, but Ana was a skeptic. She too, was a scientist, so it was practically her civic duty to poke holes in his arguments.

"Doctor Niehaus, what if I told you that in just a few years, you can ditch those glasses for a corneal implant, capable of seeing  _every_  nanometer of the light spectrum?" He put her on the spot.

"How about a time machine, so I can go tell myself not to sit so close to the TV?" She quipped. "Or maybe, I just start with contact lenses." Why take broad leaps when baby steps can bring a great result?

"And so, you could." He spun her remarks in his favor. "Neolution is about owning that chance to direct your future." He had the room wrapped around his finger.

* * *

"So glad you two could make it." Dr. Leekie greeted the couple at the reception afterwards.

"The invitation was very kind, thank you." Ana replied diplomatically.

"I should've known better than to call you out, I'm glad you went easy on me." Dr. Leekie poured on the compliments, circling his prey.

"Wouldn't be very nice of me to show you up at your own lecture." She wasn't quite ready to bite. "Me, I'd just rather show, than tell."

"Still, I do enjoy turning skeptics into believers, so my offer certainly still stands." He sipped from his wine glass.

"Offer? What offer?" Frederick asked.

"Just a thing at the DYAD." Ana brushed it off.

"Hardly just a thing." Dr. Leekie flashed his signature grin as he extended a business card to Frederick. "We'd be lucky to have a pair of brilliant minds like yours at our little institute."

"It's a tempting offer, but I don't think we could just up and move to Toronto." Fred took a look at the card. "After all, it's not just us, we've got to think about Cosima, thanks to you."

"Just promise me you'll let the idea soak overnight." Dr. Leekie eased off the pressure. He looked to Ana. "In the meantime, what do you say we fill him in on our little coffee talk yesterday."

* * *

"You call two tesla coils a base defense?" Cosima directed her virtual army across the couch from Peter. "It's like you're begging me to beat you."

"Maybe if someone didn't mine all the resource gems, I could build more." He dug into his bowl of popcorn. No question, she was kicking his ass.

"Well, now you're just making excuses." She teased, obliterating his virtual base once more. "Whaddya say? Best out of seven?"

"Just don't tell my parents you wiped the floor with me." He replied sheepishly. "Can't be a four-star General if I lose this badly in a fake war."

"Planning on carrying on with the family business?"

"Doesn't feel like I have much of a choice in the matter." He shrugged. "My dad already has me tracking down Congress members to write me a West Point letter." Just a little bit of parental pressure. "You?"

"Nothing's really set in stone." She shook her head. "My parents are pretty chill about it, 'whatever makes me happy' and all that stuff."

"You're good at science, do something with that." He replied. Good was an understatement, given what he'd learned from her in their short time of being acquainted.

"Just, all the science?" She laughed that infectious laugh. Science was a big field, she'd have to do a little narrowing down "All that cloning stuff was kinda cool. I'll bet there's loads of weird data to mine there."

"Clone a bigger and better animal, they'll put you on billboards."

"Deal. I promise I'll send pictures to whatever warzone you're overlording." To someone her age, that future seemed like a million years away, but it was still fun to tease it out.

"Deal." He smiled. "Oh, shoot." He caught a glance at the clock. "I told my parents I'd be home half an hour ago." He scrambled to pack his things.

"I uh, had a really good time tonight." He said as Cosima showed him to the door.

"Yeah, me too." She grinned. "We should totally do it again."

"Awesome." He'd been standing there an awkwardly long time, and was suddenly aware of it. "I'll see you in class tomorrow." He made an abrupt exit, hoping the beads of sweat didn't show.

"Bike safe." She waved after him. She felt lucky. She'd managed to find a friend in the high school safari that just got her for the funny little geek that she was. Hella neat.


	4. Chapter 4

"He's certainly a charmer, I can see why the DYAD keeps him around." Ana fished for her keys in her purse on their doorstep.

"Not to mention, the crazy science." Frederick got his out first. "You've got to admit, though, that Neolution stuff is pretty intriguing."

"Sounds like the fancy designer version of Cold Spring Harbor" Ana replied. During the presentation she couldn't help but think of the infamous Eugenics laboratory. The more she thought about it, the uneasier she felt. If this was his new area of study, what was really going on in the study they were currently enrolled?

"Cos, what are you still doing up?" Ana hadn't expected to see her lazily sprawled on the couch with her laptop. Well, at least not at that hour.

"Out past your curfew with no phone call? I had to make sure you kids got home in one piece." Cosima did love when she could turn the tables on her folks.

"Cute." Frederick planted a kiss on his daughter's forehead. "Come on, up you go, it's a school night."

"I wanted to hear about the lecture" She pouted in protest, dragging herself off the couch, allowing the teenage whine to escape.

"You can read our notes tomorrow." Ana promised, as Cosima begrudgingly came in for a hug. "G'night, sweets" Ana lingered in the embrace longer than usual. Dr. Leekie made this moment possible. She had to at least give him the benefit of the doubt, right?

"Mom…" Cosima rolled her eyes. "Thought you guys wanted me to go to bed…"

"Ah, yes, how rude of me." Ana snapped out of her brief spell. "Love you bunches." She called after Cosima as she ascended the stairs.

"Love you more." She called back, retreating to her room.

"Come on, Cold Spring Harbor?" Frederick said once Cosima was out of earshot. He didn't think Dr. Leekie was going quite so far. "He's innovating, not eliminating."

"Just trying to create a more perfect human. Like that's never caused trouble before." Ana fixed another drink. Spirited debates into the wee hours of the night were just another perk of marrying a fellow scholar.

"We make choices to improve already." He sipped his bourbon. "You wear glasses, hell, I wear orthotics in my running shoes." He wasn't seeing the big deal in all this commotion.

"You heard him, that's not the kind of changes he's talking about." She settled across from him. "Choosing to read clearly, and choosing to have x-ray vision are separate entities entirely" her hands flew as she got more riled up.

"Yeah, but who's to say it wouldn't be useful?" He shrugged, trying to diffuse the growing tension.

"I don't like the implications, okay?" Ana caught herself before her voice rose too much. He clearly hadn't taken the lecture the same way she did. It wasn't just the stuff of comic books. This particular brand of innovation in the wrong hands…well, one can't simply stuff the genie back into the bottle.

Frederick raised an eyebrow. As passionately as they could debate a topic, it rarely escalated in such a way. He took his hand in hers, interlacing their fingers.

"What's going on, hon?" Something was on her mind, and it certainly didn't take x-ray vision to see it.

"I don't know." It was hard to express all the doubt that'd suddenly festered since her seemingly-innocuous coffee meeting with Dr. Leekie. "The DYAD, the increased physicals for Cosima, this Neolution craze, doesn't it make you worry?"

"It sounds like they're just staying on top of things, sweetheart, like he said, just precautionary" He was optimistic. After all, they didn't have any reason to doubt that Dr. Leekie wasn't working for Cosima's best interests.

"What if all the Neolution business is because of the IVF trial?" She finally pinpointed the gnat buzzing about in her mind. What if there was something wrong, and they weren't being told the whole truth?

"Whoa, whoa, sweetie, you're taking some quantum leaps, here." He tried to bring her back down to earth. It was a lofty charge to be making. "If something was wrong, they would have tell us."

He was right. Dr. Leekie had been up front about everything so far. Still, the thought was hard to shake.

Upstairs, Cosima wasn't as asleep as she'd promised she'd be. Of course she could hear her parents, and of course, she was curious.

"DYAD, huh?" She mumbled, falling into a search engine wormhole.

A couple of weeks later, Frederick gave Cosima's door a hearty knock. "Up and at 'em, kiddo, you're gonna be late again."

"Save yourself, go on without me." She groaned, pulling the covers back over her head. Her body decided to rebel today, and make her feel like death warmed over. Like the flu, if tiny viral cells carried tiny baseball bats to beat her senseless from the inside-out.

Frederick took this as his cue to enter. "Little under the weather, Cos?" He gave her cheeks a feel with the back of his hand. Definitely warm. Such was the joys of being a parent during flu season. "Think we'll stay home today."

"I have a bio midterm today. I have to go." Her brain was ready to go, but her body wasn't sharing the same enthusiasm.

"I think your teacher would rather have you here, than spreading chapter sixteen all over class." He gave her hand a squeeze. "Get some rest, we'll see if Dr. Conway can squeeze us in for an appointment."

Ana couldn't check her messages until after her morning lectures. "…Cos is fine, her fever ran a bit high, but Dr. Conway thinks it's just the flu…" she debated cancelling her afternoon right then and there. "…don't worry, she's resting. We're just gonna take it easy today. I'll have dinner waiting when you get home." The worried mother in her was drowning out the logical scientist. Everything was apparently under control, but in light of what'd happened a few weeks before, she couldn't keep herself from dialing the number on the wrinkled business card kept in her drawer.

"Dr. Leekie, it's 324B21 on line two." The cool voice announced the call. "Just a moment." He replied, picking up the receiver. "Dr. Niehaus, finally considering my offer?"

"Not quite." Ana replied. Boy, he was relentless. "You um, told me to call if there was anything out of the ordinary with Cosima?"

That certainly got his attention. "Yes, yes, of course, is everything alright?"

"I don't really know." She replied, suddenly feeling very stupid for calling.

"Come now, what's on your mind?" Sixteen years deep in the study, he was well-versed in matters with concerned parents.

"She's sick, Dr. Leekie." She fumbled her hands nervously. "You've seen her records, she doesn't get sick. And with everything you were saying before about precautions-"

"You're a scientist, Dr. Niehaus." He went straight to his best tricks in the book. "You're not like other parents. You have the burden of knowledge." It was true. There was such a thing as knowing too much. "If it gives you peace of mind, we'll have our best brains look over the tests her primary physician drew today."

"That would help, thanks." She finally exhaled. That Leekie had a knack saying the perfect thing to calm her down, like, every time.

"I'll even throw in my best soup recipe." He smiled, putting the cherry on top. Monitoring the monitors, all in a day's work. "We'll talk again soon."


	5. Chapter 5

Cosima wasn't used to being away from her studies for this long. It was only four days, but it might as well have been a semester. She was surrounded by thrice-read encyclopedias, and a dial-up internet connection. No wonder people hated getting the flu.

She kept coming back to the DYAD webpage. What did her parents have to do with some bio-tech corporation a thousand miles away? And Doctor Leekie? All she could find on him was a couple of articles on therapeutic cloning. She couldn't even try to bring up the topic without her parents changing the subject.

"Hey, sweets?" Ana poked her head in the bedroom doorframe. "Pete's downstairs, he's got a few dozen pounds of notes for you. Up for a visitor?"

"Obvs." She blurted out, very ready for any human contact that wasn't from a parent. "I'm allowed, right?" She asked cautiously. Last thing she wanted was to get him sick.

"Fever's been gone long enough, I'll allow for it." Ana cracked a smile, motioning for him to come join the party as she took her leave.

"Hey." The butterflies had settled since they'd first met, but his nervous smile crept through. "Sorry, I probably should've gotten these to you sooner." He dropped the small mountain of handouts and assignments on her desk.

"Dude, that's all you could carry?" She teased, pulling over a chair for him. "Some General you're gonna make."

"Pathetic, I know." He hadn't realized how much he'd really missed having her around at school until he sat across from her. "So, when do they make you start living in a giant plastic bubble?"

"Don't give my parents any ideas." She started thumbing through the notes. Nothing particularly groundbreaking, but she had to be sure she wasn't missing anything. "I feel better, they're just waiting on a couple of stupid tests to make sure I don't have, like, dengue fever, or something. My parents are suspiciously thorough when it comes to my health."

"Can't be soon enough, I've been stuck with Ben Graydon as my lab partner. Guy can't even hold a test tube right side up, let alone titrate solvents." Not to mention, he was a terrible conversationalist. He made him miss Cosima's company all the more.

"Plus, I'm pretty sure you're like the only other person at school who knows my name." He deflected his feelings of lonesomeness in humor.

"Yeah, I missed ya too." She was never one to be coy with her feelings.

"Kinda lonely up here in the Batcave, huh?" He was fascinated by the sheer number of books surrounding them.

"Hard to save Gotham when you're stuck with the flu." She coughed through a laugh.

"Hopefully this'll take your mind off it." He flipped through the notes to find the right assignment. "There's a City-wide science fair, we get extra credit if we do it, and some sick college scholarship money if we win."

"Sweet!" Cosima looked over the flyer. Hardcore science? Of course she was interested. "I've got like, thirty ideas already. We should start planning, there's a million ways we can do this." Her mind was steamrolling, setting her off on a ramble."

"You'll be my partner?"

"Duh. I mean, if Ben Graydon isn't already taken."

* * *

"So, you're not worried about our daughter alone upstairs with a boy we hardly know because…?" Frederick was a father. He couldn't help being on guard when some teenager with a Y-chromosome was around his little girl.

"Because, he's a good kid from a good family." Ana got a kick out of seeing him get so worked up over their visitor. "We met his mom ages ago. Remember that conference in Chicago?"

"She the one with the mice that ran forever?" He tried to recall the highlights.

"The very same." She nodded. "We had coffee last week. Apparently the military took an interest in her research and she's been with them ever since."

"You know her secrets? Surprised you weren't black-bagged and tossed in a van." He smirked, turning his attention back to the miles and miles of coding on his laptop.

"We're having dinner with them next weekend if you can pass the background check." She replied with a wink. It was high time they got to meet the parents.

"I thought you left all the coding to Omari these days." She brought a steaming mug of tea over. He'd been typing away non-stop since they'd seen Leekie's lecture together.

"I do, usually." He replied, taking a brief pause. "I'm still trying to work the kinks out of this new medical software." He explained, staying very light on the details. "But, hopefully, when I'm done, Doctors will be able to scan through millions of samples in the blink of an eye."

"Easy on the dirty talk, the kids can hear." She flashed a sly grin, giving his shoulders a quick squeeze. Crazy science, indeed.

* * *

"Dr. Leekie, I've finished the blood work on 324B21." The young lab tech set the file on his cavernous desk.

"Thanks." He mumbled, adding it to the rest of the latest data he'd collected on Cosima. He was right, it definitely was the flu, but still, there was something that didn't quite add up. The clone cells were purposely bred to have a superior immune system. One did not simply "get" the flu. Something was going on in there, and he was going to have to work double time to figure out how this related to the deceased subjects. A mutation, perhaps? Had they missed something in the last round of tests? The original genome was long lost to the lab explosion. Collateral damage to silence the Duncans. Sad, yes, but progress came at a price. Young Rachel was already thriving, the rest of the flock were sure to follow. He had yet to meet Cosima, but he already admired her from afar. He was often chided for his attachment to his subjects. He had practically raised Rachel as his own for the last seven years, it was hard not to feel a sense of responsibility for their well-being. He needed to get to the root of this new problem before it had a chance to escalate.

"Aldous, why is it I am only now hearing about 324B21?" The executive strode into his office unannounced.

"Do come in, Marion." He looked away from his meticulous charting.

"Am I going to have another Chippewa Falls on my hands, here? There are only so many places in the world with contaminated groundwater." She folded her arms. There were only so many ways to cover up a failed subject.

"I assure you, everything's under control." Try as he might, Marion Bowles seemed impenetrable to his charm. "Symptoms are already improving. Much faster than any normal flu patient, I might add."

"Save it for the shareholders, Aldous." She held up a hand impatiently as she turned to leave. They hadn't come close to recreating the successful clone cells since the explosion across the pond. Their thinning subject pool could spare no more loss. "Keep me updated."


End file.
